Angels Unknown
by Crazedtroll
Summary: On his way to work Henry has a bad encounter with a mugger. Will someone come to his rescue? My first Forever fic set early in the series.


_**Hey folks, this is my first attempt at a Forever fic. It is short and pretty pointless but an idea I had early on in the series. Comments are always welcomed! I'm working sans Beta so please forgive any errors, or volunteer to be my Beta ;). Not my properties and I make no monies from this! -CT**_

Dr. Henry Morgan had just started his day. It had been a good start. A quiet coffee with Abe at the shop, then a phone call from Detective Jo Martinez. He was on his way now to meet her at a crime scene. While he might not admit it, the thought of spending some time with the lovely detective put a small spring in his step, though it did not stop him from noticing the world around him. It did not stop him from seeing a woman getting held up. Without thinking he ran to her aid.

"Give me the money!" The thief was yelling, but the woman was clinging tightly to her bag, fear and determination on her face. "I will shoot you!"

"No!" Henry shouted without thinking, stepping towards the mugger and woman. The gun fired, and pain tore through his chest. Crying out, he collapsed, watching the mugger run away. The woman stood screaming in horror, and the rest of the world started to fade. Gasping for breath, Henry struggled to keep everything in focus. He couldn't breathe, his chest was on fire. Clutching a hand to his chest, he tried to stop the bleeding. There was too much bleeding. Looked like he was going to start his day with a death alright, his own.

"Call 911!" The voice broke through the pain and Henry felt hands on his chest. "Tell them there's a man with a gunshot wound to the chest!" Strong hands clamped down on the wound. "I'm going to try to stop the bleeding. Can you look at me?" Fighting the drowsiness caused by loss of blood, Henry rolled his eyes to look up at the woman. Her face was filled with intense concern, her blood red hair swept to one side.

"Good. Good. Stay with me. Okay." Henry gasped, trying hard to keep her in focus, wondering if he was going to die on this strange woman. "Don't worry about talking." The woman flashed a smile at him, and then looked to his wound. "I can do all the talking. I'm trying to stop, or at least slow the bleeding." A gasping breath escaped from Henry's lips.

"Yeah. I know, it's a lot, but I'm pretty stubborn. I don't like people dying on me, understand?" She gave him a stern look, and to his shock, he wanted to smile at her. He wanted to reassure her that no matter what happened, he would be alright. Death by bullet wound wasn't the worse way to die.

"Hey, stop thinking about death," she ordered, dragging him from his thoughts. "Look at me." One of her hands touched his cheek, and Henry was shocked that her warmth seemed to infuse him. Blood started to choke him, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could fight. "I will electrocute you if necessary. I have no qualms about that." Coughing, Henry watched his blood splatter her shirt. Too bad it was going to have to end like this, dying in her arms. It would be nicer if he'd known her. With one more cough, he gave in and lost consciousness.

There was no water. Instead there was just the steady beat of the heart monitor. Groaning, Henry opened his eyes and blinked against the light of the room. A face blocked the light, and Henry blinked more rapidly. Jo's face smiled down at him. Groaning again, Henry tried to move and felt pain flaring in his chest. "Take it easy," Jo lectured. "You've only been out of surgery for a few hours. Doctors weren't even sure you'd make it."

"The woman," Henry breathed.

"The mugger ran away. She's fine." The look Jo gave him was unexplainable, part pride, part anger. "And I don't think I need to tell you how stupid you were to go running up like that."

"He was going to shoot her." Henry cringed, and then forced a smile. Looking around he spotted Abe, sleeping in a chair next to the bed. "How long has he been here?"

"Since we got the call." Jo smiled sweetly over at Abe, and then looked back to Henry with a frown. "Can you remember what happened?"

"I heard the mugger, and tried to help. He was getting ready to shoot her, but I guess I shouted, because he shot me instead." Putting a hand to his chest, Henry thought about the red-haired woman.

"And after that?"

"There was a woman. She had red hair. Took control like she was used to it. Put pressure on my wound, told someone to call for help." Trying to burn a picture of the woman into his memory, Henry stared at his feet. "She told me she was stubborn; didn't like people dying on her."

"I don't think the EMS guys got her name," Jo said, watching Henry.

"She saved my life." Henry looked up at Jo. "If she hadn't applied pressure and kept talking to me…" Henry trailed off.

"We all have our guardian angels Henry. Sometimes they just don't come in the shape we expect them." Smiling, Jo stood. "Get some rest. I'm going to get something to eat, then I'll be back until Abe wakes."

"Thank you." Henry watched Jo leave the room, his mind lost in the memory of the woman saving his life. Perhaps Jo was right, perhaps even he had his own guardian angel of sorts.


End file.
